Quick service restaurant Guzman Y Gomez (GYG) has appointed Hilton Brett as co-CEO, effective immediately, as the company plans to launch an initial public offering and further expand in the US.

Brett will be working alongside the restaurant’s founder and CEO Steven Marks, who announced in May that he would be stepping back from day-to-day operations to focus on culture and growth.

Prior to the new appointment, Brett served as a non-executive director on the board of GYG for over five years and worked as an operating partner at TDM Growth Partners – GYG’s biggest shareholder.

He is also a non-executive director at Somnomed Australia and Pacific Smiles Group, and from 2006 to 2018, he held the position of co-CEO at Accent Group.

Marks will keep the food, marketing, and US operations as his responsibility, while Brett will lead the finance, information technology, human resources, legal, real estate, and investor relations departments. Each of them will have a line of sight into all divisions.

“Hilton has been on the board of GYG for the last five years so his knowledge of GYG’s business model and our company culture didn’t need to be taught or learned. When he joined us in a full-time capacity as acting CFO four months ago, he immediately knew what needed to be done and got to work,” said Marks.

“GYG is a unique business with an opportunity to become the biggest and best restaurant company in the world. The most important thing for me was finding a co-CEO who would bring in the skills we needed for the next chapter of growth for GYG.”

Brett will be leaving TDM in line with his new appointment.